Implementation and analysis of quantum computing application to Higgs boson reconstruction at the large Hadron Collider

With the advent of the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) era, high energy physics (HEP) event selection will require new approaches to rapidly and accurately analyze vast databases. The current study addresses the enormity of HEP databases in an unprecedented manner—a quantum search using Grover’s Algorithm (GA) on an unsorted database, ATLAS Open Data, from the ATLAS detector. A novel method to identify rare events at 13 TeV in CERN’s LHC using quantum computing (QC) is presented. As indicated by the Higgs boson decay channel $$H\rightarrow ZZ^*\rightarrow 4l$$ H → Z Z ∗ → 4 l , the detection of four leptons in one event may be used to reconstruct the Higgs boson and, more importantly, evince Higgs boson decay to some new phenomena, such as $$H\rightarrow ZZ_d \rightarrow 4l$$ H → Z Z d → 4 l . Searching the dataset for collisions resulting in detection of four leptons using a Jupyter Notebook, a classical simulation of GA, and several quantum computers with multiple qubits, the current application was found to make the proper selection in the unsorted dataset. Quantum search efficacy was analyzed for the incoming HL-LHC by implementing the QC method on multiple classical simulators and IBM’s quantum computers with the IBM Qiskit Open Source Software. The current QC application provides a novel, high-efficiency alternative to classical database searches, demonstrating its potential utility as a rapid and increasingly accurate search method in HEP.

Polarized Z bosons from the decay of a Higgs boson produced in association with two jets at the LHC

Investigating the polarization of weak bosons provides an important probe of the scalar and gauge sector of the Standard Model. This can be done in the Higgs decay to four leptons, whose Standard-Model leading-order amplitude enables to generate polarized observables from unpolarized ones via a fully-differential reweighting method. We study the $$\text {Z} $$ Z -boson polarization from the decay of a Higgs boson produced in association with two jets, both in the gluon-fusion and in the vector-boson fusion channel. We also address the possibility of extending the results of this work to higher orders in perturbation theory.

On new physics contributions to the Higgs decay to Zγ

We explore models of new physics that can give rise to large (100% or more) enhancements to the rate of Higgs decay to Zγ while still being consistent with other measurements. We show that this is impossible in simple models with one additional multiplet and also in well motivated models such as the MSSM and folded SUSY. We do find models with several multiplets that carry electroweak charge where such an enhancement is possible, but they require destructive interference effects. We also show that kinematic measurements in Higgs decay to four leptons can be sensitive to such models. Finally we explore the sensitivity of four lepton measurements to supersymmetric models and find that while the measurement is difficult with the high luminosity LHC, it may be possible with a future high energy hadron collider.

QCD factorization of the four-lepton decay $$B^-\rightarrow \ell \bar{\nu }_\ell \ell ^{(\prime )} \bar{\ell }^{(\prime )}$$

Motivated by the first search for the rare charged-current B decay to four leptons, $$\ell \bar{\nu }_\ell \ell ^{(\prime )} \bar{\ell }^{(\prime )}$$ ℓ ν ¯ ℓ ℓ ( ′ ) ℓ ¯ ( ′ ) , we calculate the decay amplitude with factorization methods. We obtain the $$B\rightarrow \gamma ^*$$ B → γ ∗ form factors, which depend on the invariant masses of the two lepton pairs, at leading power in an expansion in $$\Lambda _\mathrm{QCD}/m_b$$ Λ QCD / m b to next-to-leading order in $$\alpha _s$$ α s , and at $$\mathcal {O}(\alpha _s^0)$$ O ( α s 0 ) at next-to-leading power. Our calculations predict branching fractions of a few times $$10^{-8}$$ 10 - 8 in the $$\ell ^{(\prime )} \bar{\ell }^{(\prime )}$$ ℓ ( ′ ) ℓ ¯ ( ′ ) mass-squared bin up to $$q^2=1~$$ q 2 = 1 GeV$$^2$$ 2 with $$n_+q>3~$$ n + q > 3 GeV. The branching fraction rapidly drops with increasing $$q^2$$ q 2 . An important further motivation for this investigation has been to explore the sensitivity of the decay rate to the inverse moment $$\lambda _B$$ λ B of the leading-twist B meson light-cone distribution amplitude. We find that in the small-$$q^2$$ q 2 bin, the sensitivity to $$\lambda _B$$ λ B is almost comparable to $$B^- \rightarrow \mathrm {\ell }^- \bar{\nu }_{\mathrm {\ell }}\gamma $$ B - → ℓ - ν ¯ ℓ γ when $$\lambda _B$$ λ B is small, but with an added uncertainty from the light-meson intermediate resonance contribution. The sensitivity degrades with larger $$q^2$$ q 2 .

Higgs physics at CMS

The most recent results of a Higgs boson production and properties from the CMS Collaboration using the LHC Run 1 and Run 2 data are reported. These include analyses of a Higgs boson decaying to a pair of photons, four leptons via Z boson pair decays and the associated production of a Higgs boson with top quark pair, predicted by the Standard Model (SM). The studies of a Higgs boson decays to a pair of bottom quarks, a pair of tau leptons and a charm quark pair are also presented. The Higgs boson production via vector boson fusion (VBF) and decaying to invisible particles is reported here as well. The analysis of a Higgs boson decay to a pair of muons is also presented. The study of a Higgs boson pair production at 13 TeV is performed as well and projections of a Higgs boson self couplings together with the couplings to other particles at the HL-LHC are made.